Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Acquires 161 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC lifted its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,422 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in PPG Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in PPG Industries by 588.5% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPG Industries Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE PPG traded down $1.74 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $129.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,957,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,780,763. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $138.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.55. PPG Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $120.32 and a twelve month high of $152.89. The firm has a market cap of $30.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.28.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.86. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 22.98%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. PPG Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.92%.

PPG Industries declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 18th that allows the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PPG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded PPG Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $150.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $149.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPG Industries has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.47.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

About PPG Industries

PPG Industries, Inc manufactures and distributes paints, coatings, and specialty materials in the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through two segments, Performance Coatings and Industrial Coatings. The Performance Coatings segment offers coatings, solvents, adhesives, sealants, sundries, and software for automotive and commercial transport/fleet repair and refurbishing, light industrial coatings, and specialty coatings for signs; wood stains; paints, thermoplastics, pavement marking products, and other advanced technologies for pavement marking for government, commercial infrastructure, painting, and maintenance contractors; and coatings, sealants, transparencies, transparent armor, adhesives, engineered materials, and packaging and chemical management services for commercial, military, regional jet, and general aviation aircraft.